Ag Policy Blog

Richard Fordyce, USDA's undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation, spoke to DTN about the status of the base-acre update on Wednesday. He said FSA offices continue to dig into acreage history, but that should be done over the next month.

Four lawmakers on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees met with reporters on Tuesday about agricultural challenges. Each pointed to strong bipartisan support for aiding farmers, but the four members also reflected that there is little consensus on how to advance key...

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has opened an acreage reporting period for specialty crop producers for their share of $1 billion set aside for aid tied to 2025 crops. USDA also had a flurry of announcements Tuesday, such as launching a new ag-tech testing program and...

President Donald Trump's FY 2027 budget proposes a 19% cut to USDA discretionary spending, reducing funding for research, rural development and food aid while shrinking agency staffing. The plan emphasizes eliminating programs the administration opposes while boosting funding to...

Groups aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) push are calling on USDA to improve the sourcing of meat at schools and implement the new dietary guidelines as well. These changes could drive up the costs of lunches for 30 million children nationally as schools already...

Separate speeches this week by key lawmakers show divisions remain when it comes to passing a farm bill, financial aid to producers and E15 legislation.

The World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogues this October will focus on global food security, particularly in times of war, rather than on food production. The foundation on Wednesday named this year's World Food Prize laureate.

EPA indicated Administrator Lee Zeldin will make announcement on E15 on Wednesday. He said earlier in the week that an announcement on the Renewable Volume Obligations will be released by the end of March.

A coalition of 54 farm groups has asked President Trump to include more market relief for farmers in a supplemental appropriations request.

The Trump administration has delayed the final implementation of the Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems, which the Biden administration finalized just before leaving office. Under the rule, poultry companies would no longer be able to dock a grower's...

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee visited Nebraska on Friday, holding a forum with about 50 agricultural leaders from across the state and Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican facing reelection in the fall. Some of the biggest policy topics, such as E15 and passing...

Farmers highlighted E15, local food purchasing and tax credits for cotton at a U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee hearing focusing on how to boost domestic markets. Senators said they recognize the financial straits facing farmers due to input prices that continue to rise...

The House Agriculture Committee early Thursday morning voted 34-17 to advance its farm bill package after debates over a broad range of issues on Tuesday and all day Wednesday. Seven Democrats joined Republicans in advancing the bill.

The latest proposed iteration of the Farm Bill began with markup in the House Agriculture Committee starting Tuesday night and continuing on Wednesday morning. The committee approved language that would allow USDA to provide CCC aid to tobacco farmers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in a news release, touted the Trump administration is spending more than $1 billion to accelerate progress on farm modernization and long-term food supply. HHS will spend $100 million conducting research into alternatives for farm...

USDA has unveiled One Farmer, One File for farmers to access USDA services through a single log-in they can use to enroll in either FSA or NRCS programs. USDA also plans to use the platform for producers to file acreage reports.

Farmers for Free Trade has been highlighting the importance of trade deals since the first Trump administration but has ramped up its focus in the past year on protecting the USMCA as well. The group held a discussion on Tuesday about agriculture and the trade deal as...

Rep. Glenn GT Thompson, R-Pa., on Sunday announced a weather-related postponement of the full committee markup of the "Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026." A major storm system was hitting several eastern states and Washington, D.C., that would bring blizzard...

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the ad-hoc FBA program will open enrollment from Feb. 23 to April 17. The program has specific payment rates for farmers and payments are capped at $155,000 per individual or entity.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order to protect the domestic production of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate. The order gives the Agriculture Secretary authority to direct the production of both crop inputs. It also gives immunity to companies for following the...